Sometimes our paths in life can be unexpected. Maybe you did something you regret or experienced something negative that changed your world forever. Regardless, our minds have a way of keeping us up at night because of it.

Something I’ve found to help is reminding myself that without those unexpected turns I wouldn’t be the person I am today. Without unkindness, I wouldn’t have valued kindness. Without apathy, I wouldn’t have valued empathy, and without sadness, I wouldn’t have valued happiness. While it’d be better if I could’ve learned to value these things without all of those hard times, I know that for most people, things just don’t work like that.

The hard times don’t make you as a person. Instead, they make up little pieces to build you as a whole. That negative experience you faced doesn’t have to dictate who and what you are but rather who you’ve become and what you’ve learned.

You are more than your past, and it’s about time you let yourself grow.